A short history of PBP

From an article on the internet by Gary Smith

In 1891, Pierre Giffard sensed that something had to be
done to boost the sagging French moral. Unlike some more
conservative journalists of the day who thought the bicycle
was an oddity quickly to be disposed of, Giffard was a
dyed-in-the-wool cyclist. This was easy in Giffard's day
since Lycra hadn't been invented yet. What had been invented
in 1885 was the "safety bicycle," the basic form of the
bicycle we know today.

Although there were only a few thousand cyclists in all
of France and only a handful of those were racing fanatics,
Giffard realized the potential of the fledgling bicycle. He
wanted a dramatic demonstration of its power, range, and
versatility. He wanted to sell more newspapers and increase
his circulation. Giffard hit upon the idea of a cycling event
of enormous proportions. This was not going to be any mere
race; this was going to be a test.

Giffard fanned the flames of interest with a series of
hot-breathed articles. He had conceived of a test "not
primarily of speed but brains, skill and endurance." He had
hit upon the idea of a 750 mile (1200 km.) event going from
Paris to Brest on the Atlantic Ocean and returning to Paris.
Could a man with the aid of nothing more than his muscles
accomplish such a feat? The medical establishment of the time
didn't think so. Doctors universally condemned the idea as
sheer lunacy. "The bicycle in such overdoses will kill the
rider just as surely as an overdose of arsenic" one medical
expert of the time wrote. So much for medical science.

Despite these dire predictions, people started lining
up to enter. Giffard was taken aback at the tumultuous
response he received. He changed the entry rules in
mid-stream and charged the unheard of sum of 5 francs to
enter. Nonetheless, 300 riders including 7 women signed up.
Among the new rules Giffard came up with was the time limit
of 10 days. Another rule said each rider had to use the same
bicycle throughout. To avoid cheating, each bicycle was
provided with a special seal. The sealing ceremony was an
affair of great pomp and circumstance held in front of the
Petit Journal building. Properly huffy officials affixed
seals of worthiness to entrants' machines. Presaging the
length of the race, the sealing ceremony lasted for two days!
When the officials had finished, 280 machines had been
"signed, sealed, and secured." Among the 280 were 10
tricycles, 2 tandems and 1 high wheeler. At the last moment,
Giffard decided not to accept women. So much for equality.

At daybreak on Sunday, September 6, 1891, 206 riders
left a cheering crowd in front of the Le Petit Journal. After
three flats within the first mile, the French professional,
Jules Dubois realized his pate de frois gras was cooked. The
race was now between Charles Terront and Jacques Jiel-Laval.

There could not have been two more different riders
than Terront and Jiel-Laval. Terront was hot-blooded and
impetuous. Jiel-Laval, on the other hand, was coldly
calculating, sticking methodically to an hour-by-hour
schedule from which he would not deviate. In the end, the
mad, impetuous Terront won the first PBP in 71 hours 22
minutes, even by today's standards a very respectable time.
His closest finisher, the ice-water veined Jiel-Laval,
finished 8 hours behind Terront.

Terront had battled fatigue with nothing more than
strong French coffee. On route, he had crashed into a
barrier. At one point, he broke a crank and had to pedal
one-legged to the next checkpoint. Even with so severe a
handicap, most of his teammates could not keep up with his
frantic pace.

Terront's finish was as much a victory for the power of
the human spirit as it was for technology. One of the hotly
debated items prior to the race was which tires were better?
Just two years earlier in 1889, the Michelin brothers had
introduced their clincher tire and rims. The connoisseurs of
the time gravitated to solid rubber tires. Terront was backed
by the Michelin company. Jiel-Laval, being a connoisseur,
rode solid rubber tires. Terront's airfilled victory sounded
the death knell of solid rubber tires and put us on the
road to pneumatic riding.

Giffard was beside himself with success. He filled the
newspapers with exploits of this seminal event for months. He
made the most he could of the 99 finishers of this first PBP.
He wrote: "For the first time we saw a new mode of travel, a
new road to adventure, a new vista of pleasure. These
cyclists averaged 80 miles a day for 10 days, yet they
arrived fresh and healthy. Even a skillful and gallant
horseman could not do better. Aren't we on the threshold of a
new and wonderful world?"

Part of that "new and wonderful world" was in part
culinary. A baker on seeing the gallant lads cycling by his
window on the first PBP was so inspired by what he saw, he
created a pastry called the "Paris-Brest" in honor of the
staunch riders attempting this most unique of rides. The
calorie-laden confection is available today at any good
French bakery, especially in Paris or Brest.

It was also to be a "wonderful world" of sporting
events. Encouraged by the success and notoriety of PBP,
another Frenchman started the modern Olympics. The Tour de
France was started in 1903, again inspired by
Paris-Brest-Paris. No other bicycle race held today is as old
as PBP. Only Liege-Bastogne-Liege comes close and it is 13
years the younger.

Because of the arduous nature of PBP, it was
initially held every 10 years. Racers would rather do 10
races of 75 miles a year than 1 race of 750 miles. As time
went on, the number of entrants declined. Only a special kind
of racer could afford the training and the risk. To stem the
decline, officials instituted something new for the 1931
running of Paris-Brest-Paris. It was to be a PBP of firsts
and lasts. The 1931 PBP was to be last PBP before the Second
World War. It was to be the first PBP to be won by a
non-European, Sir Hubert "Oppie" Opperman of Australia.

It was the last time PBP would be run as a professional
bicycle road race. And it was the first time another class of
rider would appear at PBP, the randonneur (literally,
super-tourist). With the inclusion of the randonneur class
came the time limit of 90 hours to complete PBP. Jules
Tranchant won the randonneur class with a very impressive
time of 68 hours 30 minutes.

There was no PBP in 1941 due to WWII, but in 1948 it
was revived. To get it back on schedule, it was held every
five years, then, every four. PBP was now an amateur event
put on by the Audax Club Parisian (Don't bother trying to
find "audax" in a French dictionary; you won't find it!
"Audax" comes directly from the Latin word meaning "bold" or
"daring."). Some things were held over from previous days:
the machine you start on is the machine you must finish on,
the 90 hour time limit, and the distance, 750 miles.
Qualifying rides known as brevets (literally "diplomas") were
instituted to bring in only the best. Riders were also
required to have fenders on their machines. The number of
eager riders continued to grow with each running of PBP as
well as the reputation of the ride internationally. With
time, Paris-Brest-Paris had truly become what Pierre Giffard
intended - not just a race, but a test.